The Care Knot
by StudentofDust
Summary: Nothing is ever as it seems. You of all people should know that... Nick/Cassie. Not sure how many chapters there will be yet.
1. Coming Home

_So yeah... I figured that since I actually went and saw _Push _the other night, and since it's pretty much my new favorite movie EVER... I'd try my hand at writing a fanfiction for it._

_Read it, review it, but most importantly... enjoy it._

* * *

"You're limping."

Those two words snapped Nick out of this reverie. He looked over at Cassie, who was still walking beside him, arm around his waist, and smiled.

"I know," he said, "but cut me a little slack, eh? It was hard work, stopping Division from killing Kira. Not to mention that fight..." He shook his head rapidly, trying to clear a bit of the fog from his mind. "I had to push myself in ways I never even thought possible..."

"You can't technically _do_ that, you know..."

A blank look grew over Nick's face, betraying the confusion he was feeling. "Erm... what?" he asked. "I can't do what...?"

"Push yourself," replied Cassie. "You can't Push yourself, just others. Besides, you're a Mover, not a Pusher."

Even with the "explanation," it took Nick a minute or two to figure to figure out what on earth Cassie was referring to. His brain was barely able to command his legs to move, and right then his mind just wasn't up to doing two things at once.

Finally, though, after about five minutes of half-assed contemplation, a light came on his mind, and he groaned.

A look of concern flitted through Cassie's eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Nick shook his head again, a wry grin coming over his face. "I just now got your joke."

Cassie's look went from fearful to nonplussed. "What are you talking about?"

"The whole Pushers/Movers thing..." Nick mumbled.

Cassie rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "It took you _that_ long just to get my joke?"

"Hey, babe," Nick shot back, a bit testily, "it's a minor miracle that I'm even able to move my legs right now-"

At that point, a sharp, intense pain shot up Nick's right leg, and he swore aloud, turning his head so that Cassie couldn't see the pain etched in every line of his face.

She could still tell, though. And as much as she wanted to say something, no words came to her lips. So she settled for just tightening her grip on him, so he wouldn't fall over completely.

The pain took a minute to subside, but once it had, Nick found it infinitely easier to breathe. Soon after, his breathing had slowed from erratically fast to relatively normal.

"Better?" Cassie asked after a moment.

Nick half-grimaced, half-smiled in response. "Yeah, for now, but... Cassie?" When she had looked at him, he said softly, "Please don't let go of me. You know, so I don't almost fall over again...?"

Cassie shot him a "yeah sure, I believe your story... not" look out of the corner of her eye, but nevertheless she was touched that he was actually relying at least partially on her, instead of trying to be completely independent of anyone and everyone, like he usually did.

But more than that- and if Cassie was truly honest with herself (which she normally was), she would actually admit this- there was a bigger reason for her not letting go of him, than just his safety.

Simply put... she didn't want to.

So she smiled up at him, involuntarily tightening her grip on him as he returned the favor.

After a moment, she found her words again: "I wouldn't even think about it..."

---

It seemed like an eternity before they made it back to the main road.

"You making it okay?" Cassie asked. True to her word, she hadn't let go of him once during their entire trek.

And he hadn't fallen over once, either.

Nick smiled at her. "I'll make it. What about you?"

Cassie chuckled softly. "Physically, I'll be fine. Mentally, though... Well, I think Donkey said it best: 'I'm going to need some serious therapy when this is all over with...'"

Nate couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, love, you and me both."

When Cassie heard that Nick had called her "love," her face flooded pink enough to match the highlights in her hair. She turned her head to try to stop Nick from seeing her blush, and tried to cover it up by coughing.

"You okay?" Nick asked, sounding more than a bit concerned.

"Yeah," replied Cassie, literally waving it off. "Must've inhaled a bunch of dust or something..."

"Okay..." said Nick, though his tone made it quite clear that he didn't believe _her_ story, either. "So.. how exactly are we going to get back to the city?"

Cassie broke into a radiant smile. "Let me handle that." As she pulled out her cell phone, a very clear thought ran through Nick's mind: _She really is beautiful when she smiles like that... Well, she's beautiful all the time, but... especially now..._

Nick snapped back into reality, just in time for Cassie to flip her phone shut and put it back into her handbag.

"Who'd you just call?" Nick asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Shadow."

A confused look crossed Nick's face. "Who, now?"

Cassie flippantly tossed a lock of hair from her eyes. "That dude who Shadowed Kira while Division was still hunting her. I can never remember his name, so I always just call him Shadow. He doesn't seem to mind..." She shrugged. "Anyways, he said he'd be here in about five minutes to pick us up."

_Is she talking about Pinky...?_ Nick thought. In a moment, though, he shook his head, more in amazement than anything else. "You, Cassie... are a life-saver."

Cassie laughed. "Naw, I'm not..."

"No, really, you are," Nick insisted. "In fact, I want to do something nice for you. Anything you want, it's yours- if I can squeeze it into my budget, that is." He smiled lovingly at her. "So... what do you say?"

Before Cassie had a chance to stop herself, the words slipped out: "I want to go on a date with you."

As soon as she said that, she immediately regretted even saying it. _He could never love me,_ she thought. _Besides, he's so much older than I am-_

"Okay."

Cassie looked up at him in sharp surprise. "Say what?"

"I said okay," Nick responded. "I think it would be fun. Besides, being with you, I might just forget about Kira, eh?"

Cassie was about to object when they heard a blaring horn in the distance. They looked up, just in time to see a lone car pull up in front of them.

"Going my way?"

Nick smiled. "Gladly." He and Cassie got into the backseat and buckled up.

"Everything alright?" Pinky asked.

"Great, thanks. And thanks for the lift."

Pinky smiled. "Anything for a friend." He put the car into fourth gear and sped away into the night.

The car was silent for a minute or two, then Cassie reached into her bag and pulled out a small length of rope that had a few knots woven into it. Deftly, she unraveled the longer end and began to work on another knot.

"What's that?" Nick asked.

Cassie grinned. "Do you really want to know?"

Nick grinned back. "Playing hard to get?"

She laughed. "Hardly. I just don't want to tell you until our date tomorrow night. Besides, I'm not finished with it yet." She then realized what she'd just said, and backtracked: "That is, if you want to have our date tomorrow night."

Nick smiled. "That sounds great. That way, we can all go to my place and rest for the night, then be all ready for tomorrow."

"Even me?" Pinky asked.

Nick laughed. "Yeah, sure, we'll make it a sleep-over."

As Cassie continued working on her knot, she moved over in her seat and snuggled up next to Nick; she laid her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

After awhile, a soft rain began to fall, and not too long after, Cassie drifted off to sleep. Nick smiled, then leaned down and kissed her, on the lips. "Good night," he whispered. "And... I love you."

* * *

_No, the story's not over. Their date is going to be in the second chapter. Until then... Don't Push yourself too hard._

_*awaits the thrown tomatoes*_


	2. The Letters

_I decided eventually to go with a different track with this story, than what I had originally planned. I think you'll find this version much more... satisfying._

_Disclaimer (since I didn't put it in the first chapter): I will never own Cassie, Nick, and the _Push_ franchise, no matter how much I want to._

* * *

"How much further to your apartment?"

Nick had just started to drift off into deep oblivion, but Pinky's words jolted him back into the world of the living. His eyelids were heavy, his mind barely in the same place as his body, and he had to struggle to realize that Pinky had spoken to him, and not just aloud to himself.

"Sorry, man," Nick said groggily, "I was about dead back here. What'd you say?"

Pinky laughed softly. "Yeah, man, I'm almost asleep at the wheel, myself. I was just wondering how much longer it was 'til we get to your apartment."

Nick looked out the window, trying to find some sort of landmark that he could recognize. No such luck; the rain was still falling in obscene quantities, and even without the rain, it was still too dark to see much of anything.

Nick was about to speak when a road sign caught his eye, illuminated by the car's headlights. He read it and smiled.

"About a mile and a half," Nick said, already ready to drift back into sleep.

"Good," replied Pinky, "I think I can make it, then." He glanced in the rearview mirror, looking at the pair in the backseat. "How's Cassie doing?"

Nick looked down at his newfound friend, sleeping peacefully, snuggled up next to him, and smiled. "She'll be fine, she's a strong girl. Nothing a good, long rest won't help."

Nick looked down at the floorboard behind Pinky's seat, and noticed somehting lumpy down there. Picking it up, he realized what it was, and laughed softly to himself.

"What's so funny?" Pinky asked, glancing in his rearview mirror. "And what the hell is that umbrella doing in my car? I'm pretty sure it's not mine; leopard-skin prints just aren't my style..."

Nick groaned, partly due to the lame joke, and partly due to the spasm that had just racked his leg, the same one that had been paining him all night.

When the agony died down after a minte, Nick spoke up: "It's Cassie's. Funny thing, though... Before we all went our separate ways, Cassie had one of her visions, and told me to bring along an umbrella.

"And of course, being the stubborn ass that I am, I blew it off and didn't take one."

"Did you end up needing it?" asked Pinky, grateful for the conversation to keep him awake.

"Actually... yeah. I woke up after I had injected myself with that Red Dragon soy sauce-"

"Whoa," Pinky interrupted, "you did _what_?!"

Nick chuckled; he had almost forgotten that Pinky hadn't been there at the tower during the fight. "That part's a long story; I'll tell you that in the morning. So anyways, I woke up, and Cassie's standing over me with that umbrella of hers...

"I'm telling you, man, of all the people I had expected to see standing over me... Cassie was hardly on the list. And yet, when I saw her... It wasn't an unpleasant experience, I'll put it to you that way."

Nick looked up at Pinky, who had an odd expression on his face. "What?"

"You ain't getting all sappy on me, are you, Nick?"

Nick laughed. "Hardly. I just meant that it was a big relief to actually see a friendly face standing over me." He looked up ahead. "Turn left at the next light."

About five minutes later, they were all at Nick's apartment. As Nick got out, he noticed that Cassie was still asleep. Smilng softly to himself, he picked her up and gently cradled her against his chest, shutting the car door soft enough to where it wouldn't wake her up.

As Nick unlocked the door to his apartment, Pinky asked from beside him, "Where do I sleep?"

"In the fridge," Nick replied, without even looking over at him. He walked into his bedroom and laid Cassie down on his bed. He grinned, as he realized just how beautiful she looked, even when asleep. He shook his head, bringing himself back to reality, and walked back into the dining room, where he was greeted by a perplexed Pinky.

"When you said I had to sleep in the fridge," Pinky said, "you _were_ kidding, weren't you?"

Nick wagged his head in disbelief; sometimes, Pinky could be just plain... stupid. "Yes, I was kidding. I've got an old sleeping bag in the closet over there, that you can use. There should be a bed pad and a few pillows in there, too."

"You go camping a lot or something?"

"Used to," replied Nick, "before Division first caught up to me. Anyways, everything you need is in there. Feel free to take a shower, raid the fridge, whatever." Nick yawned. "I'm going to sleep."

As Pinky got himself situated, Nick took his clothes off, stripping down to nothing but his underwear. He lay down on the bed beside Cassie, slightly wishing she were awake. He wasn't that way for very much longer, though, as he soon drifted off into a deep, beautiful sleep.

**Two Days Later**

Cassie slowly opened her eyes and lazily rubbed them, trying to get the blurriness out of them. When her eyes adjusted, she sat up, trying to place where she was.

It took her a moment, but she finally recognized that she was in Nick's apartment. Smiling to herself, she got off the bed and stood up, stretching her stiff limbs.

Curious as to where Nick was, she made her way to the kitched, but stopped when she heard voices coming from the dining room.

"Damn..." Nick said, groggily, "how long did we sleep?"

"About two days, I think," replied Pinky. "We were all dead, I guess. You, especially, using so much of your juice during the fight..."

"I didn't even think I had that kind of power in me..."

Pinky smiled wryly. "None of us do, until we're put into a situation where we have no other choice but to reach deeper than we ever have before. True power comes from true testing, you know."

Cassie stepped out into the open. "That... was _really_ corny."

Nick looked up at her in surprise. "Hey."

Cassie smiled. "Hey, back." She took a seat at the table.

"Did you get a good night's sleep?" Pinky asked. "Or should I say, two nights' sleep?"

It took a moment for that to sink into Cassie's mind. "I've been asleep for two days?" Comprehension dawned on her, and she exclaimed, "Oh, no, our date!"

Nick laughed. "Don't worry, Cassie, I slept through it, too. So did Pinky, as a matter of fact."

Pinky shrugged. "Just means I didn't miss any of the action."

Both Nick and Cassie reacted simultaneously: Cassie blushed furiously, while Nick leveled a heavy gaze at Pinky. "Get your mind out of the gutter-"

"Can't. It's glued there."

"-And that's not even what I was referring to. She's only fourteen, you know."

"Thirteen," Cassie corrected with a wink, "but you're getting better."

"Doesn't matter. Four years away or five, she's still not legal. I wasn't even thinking about that, actually, 'til _you_ brought it up..."

"Neither was I," agreed Cassie.

Pinky was now looking a bit confused. "So, let me see if I have this straight. Aside from the shagging, you don't have a single solitary problem with dating a thirteen-year old?"

"She's extremely mature for her age-"

"Thank you."

"-And no, I don't. But, if you didn't catch my drift, we're still just friends."

"For now."

Pinky let that last comment slide. "Mature or not, dating someone who's half your age is kinda frowned upon, regardless of what culture you've assimilated yourself into."

Nick was about to comment on that, when there was a sharp rap on the door. Cassie and Pinky froze, but Nick cautiously got up and made his way to the door.

"Division Sniffs again?" Cassie asked, as Nick peered out the eyehole.

When Nick saw who it was, he relaxed. "Nope, just the mailman."

As Nick opened the door, Pinky glanced at the wall clock. "At ten-thirty in the morning?"

"Mail comes early here." Nick thanked the man in Cantonese, and shut the door. He idly leafed through the mail as he walked through the room to the table. He tossed all but two of the pieces into the trash can.

"Damn junk mail..." he muttered. "And, I got another anonymous letter..." He stopped suddenly, when he saw the name written on the second letter.

"What is it?" Cassie asked, seeing the look on Nick's face.

Nick slid the letter across the table, and it came to rest directly in front of Cassie. "It's for you."

Cassie cautiously picked the letter up. "What the... From a Watcher, maybe?"

"Not likely," replied Pinky. "I've been trying my best to Shadow you two since we started driving. Can't do it perfectly when I'm asleep, though, so... I guess it's possible."

"Open them together?" Nick asked.

Cassie slowly nodded, though she wanted to just rip the letter into pieces, throw it away, and forget it had ever existed.

They both opened their letters in unison. When they saw who they were from, both of them gasped.

"Oh my God..." mumbled Nick.

"No fucking way..." added Cassie.

As Pinky looked at the two of them, they both looked at each other, wondering why them... and more importantly...

_How had they been found?_

* * *

_OMG cliffhanger!!! Hope this entices you enough to wait patiently (though, probably for not more than a few days) for the next chapter._

_I'm evil, I know... *laughs maniacally*_


	3. Shocking Surprises

_I know that after the cliffhanger I gave you at the end of the last chapter (which, by the way, I have no remorse over whatsoever), you're probably expecting something BIG._

_I hope this chapter delivers._

_DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains slight and subtle spoilers for the _Push_ movie, so if you haven't seen it yet, this might ruin some of it for you. A very small part, but a part nonetheless._

* * *

It was almost a minute before anyone dared speak.

Cassie was the one who broke the silence. "Nick?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

Cassie swallowed hard, trying to at least somewhat wetten her now suddenly-dry throat. "Who wrote to you?"

"Oh no," Pinky interjected, "your reaction was _way_ more intense than Nick's. You first."

"We'll both say it at the same time, okay?" Nick said.

"O-okay..." replied Cassie.

Both of them took deep breaths, then as one, they spoke.

"Kira."

"My mom."

Nick was about to say something, when the reality of what Cassie had just said sunk in. He blinked. "Did I just hear you right? Did you really just say... your _mom_?"

"Yeah," Cassie said, her response slow in coming. She hadn't yet gotten over the shock of this yet, either. "And you say Kira wrote you?"

Nick was amazed at how fast Cassie attempted to change the subject. "Yeah, but right now, I think your little revelation takes precedence."

Pinky's face betrayed his confusion. "So? Your mom wrote you a letter. Is that significant?"

"Yes," Nick responded. Cassie threw a grateful glance his way; right then, she wasn't sure she could get her mind to work- not to mention her voice box.

"Why exactly is that significant?" Pinky asked, starting to sense that he knew much less about the situation than he'd first thought.

Nick sighed, and launched into an abbreviated version of her mom's past. With every word, Pinky's suspicion was confirmed.

"Damn..." Pinky muttered, after Nick had finished talking. "I'd heard rumors about a Watcher that was way more powerful than the rest, but... I didn't know those rumors were true." He looked over at Cassie. "Much less, that she was your mom."

"Guess it runs in the family, eh?" Cassie said softly, traces of tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.

"And what about you, Nick?" Pinky asked, fixing his gaze on him. "Any idea why Kira would want to contact you?"

"None," was all that Nick could say. At that time, he wasn't thinking much about Kira; Cassie's situation was at the forefront of his mind.

"Read it," Pinky said. "I'm curious now..."

"Do you want me to?" Nick asked.

In response, Cassie wordlessly passed the letter to Nick. No words were needed; her eyes told the whole story.

"Are you sure you want me to do this?" Nick asked, as he took the single sheet of paper from Cassie's outstretched hand.

As he did so, their fingertips brushed up against each other. Nick was surprised how cold Cassie was to the touch, though he suspected he may have been the same way. Nevertheless, in that brief moment, Cassie looked up at him, and smiled almost peacefully.

"Yes," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Nick smiled back, and pulled the paper closer to him so he could see it. Tentatively, he began to read.

_To my dear Cassie, _

_I don't know if this will ever reach you, but I pray to the heavens that it does._

_You see... I've missed you so much, Cassie. Ever since they took me away from you, it feels... like I'm not living to my fullest.. When we were still together, I enjoyed every minute we spent together. I enjoyed waiting for you to get out of school, and how you would always run up to me and wrap me up in a big, warm hug._

_And, more than anything else... I enjoyed simply being your mother. I tried to teach you well, in the hopes that you would turn out to be not only a good Watcher, but also just a good, decent human being._

_Something tells me, though, that you would have turned out that way on your own, even without my guidance._

_I hope you don't mind, Cassie, but I've tried using my own Watcher powers to keep tabs on you. In case you were wondering, that's how I knew you were there in Hong Kong._

_I've seen quite a lot of your boyfriend, as well. I hope he is safe and well, too. He needs you, just as much as, if not more than, you need him. So, don't let him down._

_Small talk aside, here's the real reason why I decided to write you now. I don't know whether you'll believe what I'm about to tell you, but I know you've wanted this since I was taken from you. I have, as well, and now it's finally happened._

_Cassie... I escaped from the Division building where I was being held._

_You probably want to know how, but I can't risk putting it down in this letter, in case Division gets a hold of it before it reaches you. I will say this, though: I had a hand in helping your boyfriend's acquaintance escape, and she inadvertently returned the favor, in much the same way that I had helped her._

_Well, in any case, I have decided that it would be best for both of us if I stay away from Hong Kong- for now, at least. I'm bound to have Division coming after me, and well... I can't risk them finding you, as well._

_So stay safe, my daughter. Maybe someday we can be reunited for good._

_Until then..._

_With all my love, Mom_

Nick looked over at Cassie, and saw tears streaming down her face. He could tell somehow that she'd been trying to keep them in, for her own reasons, but at some point, she just couldn't take it anymore.

"How long has it been since your mom tried to contact you?" Nick asked.

"Four years," Cassie replied through her tears. "She wrote me a short letter when I was nine, but... nothing since then."

Nick silently walked over to her and laid his hands on her shoulders, and Cassie reached her arms up, covering his hands with her own.

"Someday, you'll see her again," Nick said with a smile. "I may not be a Watcher, but that I'm sure of, somehow."

Cassie leaned her head back, so it was resting lightly against his stomach. She smiled up at him and, brushing tears out of her eyes, said simply, "Thank you."

Nick smiled back, then levitated Kira's letter in the air, bringing it over to him.

"Are you going to read that one, too?" Pinky asked.

"Yeah," replied Nick.

Kira's letter turned out to be much shorter than the other. It simply read:

_Dear Nick,_

_I'm coming to Hong Kong on the 26th. I want to meet you, so we can talk._

_I'll be at the tower waiting. Come around 5:00._

_Love, Kira_

A silence enveloped the room, thick, almost uncuttable.

"Are you going to go?" Pinky asked.

"Not sure," Nick replied, "I might. If Kira really does need to talk, I want to be there for her."

The silence returned, before Cassie broke it: "If you do go, can I come with you?"

Nick hadn't considered this. "Why do you want to come?"

"I want to protect you, if something happened. Besides, Kira was my friend, too, and I'd like to talk to her again?"

"I'll think about it," Nick replied. "Cassie, question: Are you going to write your mother back?"

Casie paused for a moment to think about that, then, her voice still cracking slightly, replied, "Not yet. If what she said was true, Division may already know that she sent that letter. They'll be looking for a letter back from me for the next week or so, 'cause they know I probably miss her a lot...

"But if they don't find a letter soon, they might just think that her mail got lost in transit or something."

Nick had to admit, she had a point.

As Cassie and Nick were talking, Pinky's mind wandered to other parts. Suddenly, he spoke up: "This is probably the last thing on your minds right now, but... are you two still planning on going on your little date?"

Cassie and Nick looked at each other in surprise; since getting the mail, they'd forgotten completely about that.

"I really don't have a problem with it," Nick said, "but I'm not sure if Cassie is really up to it right now... Are you?"

Her response came slowly: "I guess so... It might let me take my mind off of all this, at least. Besides, I _have_ been looking forward to it."

Nick turned to Pinky. "I guess we are still on, then. I need a favor, though."

"Name it."

"Division may still be after us. Think you can shadow us?"

Pinky thought for a moment, then replied, "Sure, what the hell? I don't have anything else to do."

"Great, how much do we owe you for the night?"

Pinky looked a bit shocked. "Honestly, I wasn't going to ask you to pay me. That ten grand I got for Shadowing Kira will last me at least for a little while, before my mercenary life comes calling again. Besides, personally, I happen to think you and Cassie make a cute couple, albeit one with the Age Difference From Hell..."

Nick glared at Pinky, and Cassie laughed softly.

"Thanks," Nick said. "At least let me buy your dinner."

Pinky grinned. "I never pass up a free meal."

Nick and Cassie smiled, and looked up at each other. In spite of the day's events, the anticipation in their eyes was more than evident.

"It's on, then," Nick said, still smiling at Cassie. "And this time, I'll make sure we don't sleep through it."

* * *

_Yeah, I know, another semi-cliffhanger. But, I hope you're satisfied up to this point. Next chapter is coming soon!!!_


	4. Missing in Action

_It's been way too long... Over a month, since I posted chapter three. Well, here it is: Nick and Cassie's date..._

_Or is it? MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!_

_*coughs harshly*_

_Excuse me. Anyways, enjoy the chapter._

* * *

Cassie looked at Nick, an odd look on her face. She tentatively opened her mouth, as though she was debating the mere act of speaking her mind in front of Nick.

Not that she was afraid of being herself with Nick. On the contrary, Nick was _the_ only person she knew that she could be herself around, and who wouldn't want to iether run away screaming or want to lock her up for good.

In a moment's time, though, she decided not to say anything yet, so she simply shut her mouth without a single syllable escaping her lips.

Nick caught the tail end of of her split-second action, and asked her, "Were you about to say something?"

This slightly shocked Cassie; she didn't think Nick had seen her. She answered him slowly, weighing every word carefully: "Nick, I don't want to force you to go on this date with me. I think hearing from Kira again was a pretty big shocker for you, and well... If you want to wait until after you go meet Kira for us to do this, then I'd be fine with that."

"She's got a point," Pinky added. "This thing with Kira might distract you from giving Cassie your full attention during... well, whatever it is you two are planning on doing together."

Nick thought about this for a moment. He couldn't deny that he wanted to go on the date with an almost child-like impatience, but at the same time, he also couldn't deny that the two of them had a point.

_Decisions, decisions..._

Before Nick could speak a word, though, Cassie said first, "I don't know what's going on in your head right now, Nick, but in case my hunch is correct... I'm not saying this 'cause I don't want to go on our date. That's not it, at all. I just think this thing with Kira is more important than our little tryst tonight."

That wasn't exactly the term that Nick would have used to describe what they were discussing, but he appreciated her thoughtfulness all the same.

Pinky couldn't help but speak up: "Cassie, do you even _know_ what a 'tryst' is?"

"Of course I do..." she muttered.

Neither of them believed her, but they let it slide anyways.

"I appreciate the gesture," Nick replied, "but really, I think I'm okay with it. Besides, Kira wanted to meet me at five, right? I could just make sure our meeting doesn't go too long, then we can meet up around seven. How does that sound?"

Both Cassie and Pinky agreed that this was definitely reasonable.

With that out of the way, they turned to other matters.

"Okay," Pinky said, "so I've got the restaurant picked out already. I'll tell y'all about it later. But now, what are you going to wear? Or have you not thought of that yet?"

Nick and Cassie looked at each other in bemusement. As a matter of fact, they _hadn't_ thought about that, but they definitely weren't about to let Pinky in on that.

"As a matter of fact," Cassie replied, "we were both going to go buy something beforehand. Nick, 'cause he wanted to surprise me, and me... well, none of my clothes are really date-appropriate."

"You got that right..." Pinky muttered.

Cassie heard it, but decided not to comment on it.

A moment later, Pinky got up and stretched. "If you'll excuse me, I have to use the little men's room."

As Pinky left the room, Nick turned to Cassie. "Nice save," he said appreciatively.

Cassie laughed. "I've gotten good at lying. The only person to this day, I can never really lie to, is my mom."

Nick smiled, getting the point. Out of curiosity, he asked, "Have you ever lied to _me_?"

Cassie looked over at Nick, a pained expression on her face. "Nick... don't _ever_ think that I would lie to you. You've done too much for me to ever justify lying to you." Without even seeming to realize it, she reached her hand underneath the table and took Nick's hand into her own.

Nick hadn't seen that coming- but then again, Watching just wasn't his thing.

As he curled his fingers around Cassie's hand, he was struck by just how soft Cassie's hands were. She _was_ only 13, he reminded himself, but then again, she'd had to survive on the streets for so long...

It was a pleasant surprise, to say the least.

Cassie's voice snapped him back to the present: "... lot of lotion."

"Sorry, what?" Nick asked, trying to clear his head. "I took a brief detour to Cloud Nine..."

Cassie laughed and said, "You asked me how my hands were so soft. I use a lot of lotion."

Nick hadn't even realized he'd spoken his thoughts aloud. _What else did she hear...?_

Suddenly, Cassie's grip on Nick's hand tightened dramatically. Nick was about to ask her what was wrong, when he recognized the focused but slightly vacant expression on her face.

_She's having another vision..._

Almost a minute passed before Cassie came back to reality. The expression on her face told Nick that her vision definitely hadn't brought them good tidings of great joy for all the people.

"What was it?" Nick asked after a moment, trying to give Cassie a bit to bring her heart rate back down to (relatively) normal.

Cassie looked at Nick with fear in her eyes, only slightly relenting the death grip she had on his hand. "I think you might want to consider going earlier to meet Kira..."

"Your vision was about her?"

Cassie nodded. "She got attacked by someone. It was weird, though... This was the first vision I've ever had where it actually showed the _time _that it was supposed to happen?"

This brought an odd look to Nick's face. "What time did it show?"

"Four twenty-six. She had looked at her watch right before she got attacked.

"Thanks, Cassie," Nick said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I can handle that."

Up until then, Cassie had almost forgotten she was holding hands with Nick.

Almost.

When Nick had squeezed her hand, though, it brought her attention fully back to him. She smiled at him, one thought floating clearly through her muddled mind.

_I am liking this _way_ more than I should..._

Without realizing it, the two were drawing nearer and nearer to each other, their eyes closing, slowly closing...

And at that moment, with the most imperfect timing ever, Pinky walked into the room again. The two resumed their previous positions before he had looked over at them.

"That was close..." Cassie whispered.

Nick laughed softly. "Don't worry; I'll make it up to you tonight."

Cassie smiled. "I'll hold you to thtat, you know."

Nick was about to respond when Pinky spoke up: Guys, it's one-thirty. When were you planning on shopping? Or were you two just going to make out all afternoon?"

"It crossed my mind," Nick said with a wicked smile, and Cassie playfully punched him with her free hand.

"No, but seriously, we should probably head out." Nick looked over at Cassie. "You wanna go shopping with me?"

"No offense, but no. Besides, you said you wanted it to be a surprise, right? Well, so do I."

"Fair enough," Nick said, standing. "Come on, let's go."

In a moment, they were gone.

**The Tower, 4:15 p.m.**

Nick sat on a concrete slab outside the tower. He was hoping he had beat Kira there, but he couldn't know for sure. All he could do was wait.

He didn't have to wait long, though- a sleek, black car pulled up in the parking lot, pulling in directly in front of where Nick was sitting.

An odd anxiety welled up in him. Something about this moment just didn't seem right. At that moment, he realized he'd forgotten his gun at home.

Though, he mused, how the hell was he to know that he'd actually need it?

One of the passenger doors opened, and Kira stepped out into the sun. Kira had obviously tried to throw whoever was searching for her, off her track; she'd dyed her hair almost jet black, lost a few pounds... But her eyes were still the same as the last time he'd seen them. Cold. Emotionless.

Haunting.

Eventually, Kira saw Nick, and a smile lit her face. She waved at Nick, and he returned the favor.

When she got to where Nick was, he stood, and the two shared a quick hug.

"Nice to see you again," Kira said.

"Likewise. Though, I am kind of curious... Why here?"

Kira laughed. "No sentimental reasons, that's for sure. This was just the only place where I was sure we both knew where it was."

"Smart girl."

The two began to walk into the tower to get out of the wind.

"So why did you want to talk to me?" Nick asked.

Kira was silent for a moment, then said, "Because I missed you. And because I think that the people who are after me, might be coming after you soon, too."

"Who's after you?"

"Division. Some guys from high up."

Nick slowly processed this. "Do they know you're here?"

"Maybe. They've got Sniffs, Watchers, only God knows what else after me."

Nick laughed, though the mirth was absent from his exclamation. "Kira... God had nothing to do with us. Being what we are, I mean."

Kira absentmindedly glanced down at her watch. It was four twenty-seven.

She was about to respond when Nick held a finger up to his lips.

"Hold on. I hear someone."

Kira began cutting her eyes off to the side, and instinctually, Nick knew what she was trying to say.

_Someone's behind me..._

Nick whirled around and saw three men advancing toward them.

"I don't recognize them," Nick muttered.

"Neither do I," whispered Kira.

Instinctively, Nick pulled Kira close to him. Kira wasn't sure whether he was just doing it to protect her, or whether there was some other reason, but her heart skipped a beat all the same.

"Who are you?" Nick called out.

One of the men replied, "Division."

Nick sneered at them. "No shit, you're Division. I mean, what are you doing here? Which one of us do you want this time?"

"Either of you will do."

Nick heard scuffling sounds behind him. Craning his neck, he saw three more Division agents coming towards them. One of them, he recognized as one of the Sniffs who had originally questioned him about Kira.

"Can you Push them?" Nick asked.

"I don't know..." was her response. Kira sounded like she was absolutely terrified.

Not that Nick could blame her...

As Nick looked at their situation, he could only think of one thing.

_It's ruined. Everything's ruined. I may not get out of this..._

_Alive, anyways._

**The Restaurant, 7:00 p.m.**

Cassie and Pinky entered the restaurant, with Pinky holding the door open for her.

"You're such a gentleman," Cassie said, slipping him a playful wink. "Who'd have thought?"

"I don't show this side of me too often," Pinky replied. "Just be glad I'm not rusty, like the last time I went out on a date."

"When was that?"

"About twenty-x years ago."

Cassie groaned, and Pinky laughed.

"I have to say, though," he continued, "you do look angelic in that dress."

And she did. It was only the third time she'd worn a dress in her entire life, but this one was just perfect for her. It was fully black, with tiny silver and gold flowers embroidered all around it.

Personally, she loved it.

"Wow, just makes me wonder what Nick will say about it."

Pinky smiled. "the same thing, though not in as many words."

They both laughed.

Just then, the _maitre-d_ called out: "Adams, table of three."

Pinky tugged on Cassie's dress. "That's us; let's go."

Cassie looked a bit confused. "I didn't know Nick's last name was Adams..."

Pinky laughed. "I don't know what the hell Nick's last name is. I just had to guess when I made the reservation for us."

"Nice thinking," Cassie said with a smile. Pinky took a bow with an exaggerated flourish, and Cassie couldn't help but laugh.

The waiter led them to their table. "Will the third person be joining you shortly?"

"Should be," Cassie said, and the waiter left.

As Pinky and Cassie waited, they talked about a lot of things: their regular lives, past significant others (Cassie's list was _much_ shorter than Pinky's was, though this surprised neither of them), places they'd been to... They were so engrossed in their conversation, it took them almost an hour for one of them to bring it back to the present.

"Where's Nick?" Cassie asked in a fearful tone. "He should be here by now..."

"I'll call him," Pinky replied. He dialed his number bot got his answering machine. Pinky left a message, then hung up.

"I think he might be in trouble," Pinky said.

"Why?"

"He _always_ answers when I call. Never lets it go through to voice mail."

Cassie couldn't help but think that Pinky may have been right.

"He'll be here, though, I know he will."

So there they sat, very worried, doing exactly that.

Waiting. Waiting for her love to come to them.

He never did. Not that night.

* * *

_FIRST DISCLAIMER: To all you Push purists out there, I realize Nick's last name is Gant. I just did the whole last name confusion thing to advance the story._

_SECOND DISCLAIMER: Ha. I left you all hanging from ANOTHER cliff!!! If you thought this chapter was good, just wait 'til five. MUAHAHAHAHA!!!_


	5. Taken

_Hello all, I'm back and writing again on this story now! The reason for the long time between updates is a little something called "writer's block," at least as far as this story is concerned. Hopefully now, it's lifted._

_Read, review, but most of all- enjoy!!!_

* * *

A wind blew across the almost-empty street, picking up leaves and trash as it went along its path. It lent a chill to the air, one almost at odds with the August heat that surrounded it.

A car pulled up in front of a restaurant, and the man got out of the driver's side seat to let his date out of the car. At that same restaurant, a middle-aged man and his obviously younger girlfriend were about to exit the eatery. Surreptitiously, the man who had just gotten out of the car flicked his wrist away from him, using his Mover powers to open the door up for the couple.

The pair was a bit surprised at the door opening for them, but after a moment, they assumed that the wind had caught it, and went on their way, the lady laughing at a joke that the man had just told.

None of these people realized, as they went on their ways, that they were being watched.

Across the street, an abandoned building sat, unused for many months. It lent a blemish to the otherwise "normal" area, but it was generally ignored by the populace that frequented this particular stretch. It was a hang-out for all sorts of people- homeless men and women, kids skipping school, cheaters coming for a quick romp before going back to their regular lives.

Now, however, only two people sat out on the entrance ramp- a man and a young girl.

The girl flipped a lock of pink hair out of her eyes and sighed aloud. "Where the hell was he, Pinky?"

Pinky shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. He's usually the kind of person to call if he's running late."

Cassie shivered, the wind finally catching up to her.

"I'm really worried," she said.

Pinky agreed. "I am, too, but I wouldn't freak out about it-"

"Of course, you wouldn't," Cassie growled. "You're not the one who had her boyfriend stand up, on the most important night of her life-"

Pinky looked a bit shocked. "I wasn't aware that you two were actually going out."

Cassie caught herself. "Well, we're not really going out officially yet."

"Do you want to?"

Cassie had to think for a moment. "It would be nice, yeah, but…"

"But what?"

"He _is_ twice my age, you know…"

Pinky smiled wryly. "I thought you didn't care about that."

"Not me," Cassie replied, "everyone else. It would look really bad if someone like Nick were seen having PDA with such a young girl like me-"

"Whoa," Pinky said, holding up his hands. "Having _what_?"

Cassie shook her head; she was surprised he didn't know what that was. "PDA. It stands for Public Displays of Affection. You know- holding hands, kissing, that kind of stuff."

The light came on in Pinky's head. "Oh, so what you're saying, is that you just don't want Nick's reputation to be ruined."

"Exactly!" Cassie said, glad that he'd finally caught on.

"So, you really do care about him?"

_As if that wasn't obvious before…_

"Yes," Cassie said, "I do. Which is why I'm so damn worried about him right now."

Pinky got out his cell phone and dialed in Nick's number. After a few seconds, though, he flipped his phone shut.

"No answer, again?"

Pinky shook his head. "Went straight to voicemail again."

Cassie looked down at the ground, a tear sliding down her face. She ran her fingers through her hair in stress, pulling them out a bit harder than she should have. Tiny pinpricks of pain presented themselves to her scalp, and when she let her hands down to eye level, she saw that she had pulled out some of her hair in the process.

She merely let them fall to the ground, though. At this point, she had much more important things on her mind than a few stray hairs. _They were bound to fall out someday, anyways…_

Finally, Cassie looked up again at Pinky. "This is all my fault, you know."

This was news to him. "How do you think that?"

Cassie couldn't meet Pinky's eyes any longer, and she stared once again at the pavement below her. "It was all because of my stupid vision. When we were sitting at the kitchen table, I had a vision of Kira being attacked, and told him to go early to head it off, if he could. Now, look what happened to him."

"It can't be your fault," Pinky said, after a moment of silent reflection. "He was going to see Kira, anyways, thus he would have been there regardless."

Cassie knew that Pinky had a point, but she was too self-absorbed at the moment to really give him the benefit of the doubt.

"What are we going to do?" Cassie asked. As much as she hated it, her voice cracked as she said this; she could tell that she was on the verge of tears, and she tried to conceal it as well as she could.

Pinky didn't answer for a moment, as he was deep in thought. When he finally did answer, all he said was, "I'm not sure."

Cassie looked up at him sharply. "What the hell do you mean, you don't know?!"

The fire in her voice was evident, and Pinky couldn't help but cringe back a bit.

"I'm not sure yet, what we're going to do is what I mean." To try to mollify her a little, he added, "Do you have any ideas?"

Cassie angrily brushed a tear from her eyes, then looked at Pinky suddenly as the light came on in her head.

"I think I might," she said, standing up suddenly. "Come on!" She grabbed Pinky's hand and took off down the street as fast as she could, not caring that she was running in high heels and a dress.

_This has to work…_

**An Unknown Room, 8:20 p.m.**

The air was dank and musty, most likely caused by the rusty pipes and pumps that surrounded the room. Here and there, a leak had sprung, and water covered a few spots on the floor. Not surprisingly, mildew and mold covered a big portion of the walls and windows around the room.

It was here that two bodies were dumped, and left almost for dead.

As a haunting moonlight streamed through what little bit of clean space there was on the windows, one of the bodies stirred and let out a low moan.

"Shit…" Nick muttered as he tried to move his arms, to get blood flowing to them again. They did not move an inch, though, and when he glanced down at his side, he found out why.

Whoever had left him there, had taken the precaution of encasing his body in a large burlap sack, and had tied his arms tightly to his side- inside the bag, of course.

He wiggled his arms for a minute, finding that they had tied them very well, giving him not very much room at all, to move.

But it was enough for what he planned to do.

Slowly, he began to scan the room, just moving his eyes around, taking in his surroundings. In a few minutes' time, he found what he was looking for- a sole razor blade, rusted from lack of use and from months of steady water dripping on it.

He could tell it was still sharp, though, and it would do.

With his mind, he willed the blade to come over to him, and it Moved with unerring accuracy. Using his Mover powers further, he worked the blade back and forth across the ropes that held him in place. It took him awhile, using only his mind (not having the benefit of the use of his hands as directional guides), but eventually, the ropes were cut completely through, and he was unbound.

Quickly, he freed himself from the sack and, once he ascertained that he was relatively unharmed (physically, at least), he went to work freeing Kira.

A minute or two later, she was free, though still unconscious.

Satisfied that he had done all that he could at the time, Nick stood up and began to carefully observe his surroundings. His head was slightly aching, from the mental stress of Moving the razor blade with just his mind, but he blocked out the pain and concentrated on his task at hand.

Trying not to get too dirty, he walked over to the window nearest to him; he rubbed vigorously against the glass, trying to clean it, but the dirt and grime were too caked on the window, and after almost five minutes of scrubbing, he hadn't made much progress at all.

Sighing, he resigned himself to not being able to work with that window, and went on to each other one in succession. He had the same amount of success with each other one, though (i.e. none), and was about to look for a door, when he heard a low moan from behind him.

He turned around to see Kira slowly waking, and struggling against her bindings. Immediately, Nick went to her.

It was only when Kira looked up at Nick, that he spoke to her: "Are you alright?"

The noise was louder than it should have been to Kira, and she cringed when Nick spoke.

"I don't know…" she murmured. "Where the hell are we?"

Nick sat up, and gazed at the window he had first tried to clean. "I know about as much as you do."

Kira tried to sit up, but her bindings prevented her from doing so. Realizing what she was trying to do, Nick grabbed the razor blade and began to work at the ropes; in a moment, she was freed, as well.

Kira rubbed her wrists and forearms vigorously, trying to get blood flowing back to them. Looking her over quickly, Nick didn't see any apparent physical damage to her, and his mind was eased somewhat.

After she was finished, Kira said, "Listen." Both of them fell silent, but all they could hear were cars rushing around them. Then, Nick identified what it was that Kira had referred to: a street vendor, hawking his wares to passers-by.

Nick recognized the voice.

"That's good," he said.

"How?"

"Because now, I have a general idea about where we are. That guy, I know him, I used to owe money to him. And he always sells his stuff on this one particular street- Chun-Aga Street, as it happens to be."

"Chun-Aga Street?" Kira asked. "So are we not even in Hong Kong anymore?"

"A few miles outside of it," replied Nick. Something in his brain clicked, and he checked his cell phone; he saw that Pinky had tried to call him quite a few times, and he swore aloud.

"What?"

Nick told her what he had discovered.

"So can't you just call him back?" Kira replied.

"Wish I could," Nick said, "but I don't have reception worth shit down here. Nothing goes in, nothing goes out."

"So… there's nothing we can do?"

Nick was about to answer, when something caught his eye; he looked above him, to see a staircase, leading up to a heavy wooden door. He ran over to it and shook it violently, but it didn't budge an inch. He looked for a lock of some sort, but didn't see anything.

"What is it?" Kira asked.

"Damn door is locked from the outside…" Getting an idea, he looked around for any piping that might have fallen loose over time. He saw a piece laying on the ground beside Kira, and smiled.

He went back down the stairs, standing at the bottom of the flight; using his Mover abilities, he lifted the pipe off the ground and began to spin it rapidly. When it had achieved the velocity he wanted, he flung it at the door as hard as he could.

The pipe raced towards the door, and when it hit, it buried itself into the wood; from the way it was positioned, Nick assumed that the pipe was about halfway out the door.

His plan hadn't worked, though; the door hadn't broken somewhat when the pipe hit it. The only thing that had happened was that the outside of the door now had a new decoration.

Sighing in resignation, Nick went over to where Kira was, and sat down to formulate a new plan. As soon as he was seated, Kira lay her head on Nick's shoulder, and Nick reached up to gently stroke her hair.

"Don't worry," he said, "we're going to find a way out of this."

"But what if we don't?" asked Kira.

"We will," Nick said. "I'm sure of it."

So there they sat, saying nothing to each other, just trying to console each other, until they couldn't stay awake any longer, and they faded away into the world of dreams, a world where life was better for them than it was in reality.

_How slowly reality fades…_

* * *

_Well, I know that you all were really looking forward to a great chapter, and I hope I delivered. Maybe next time, it won't take me three months to update it._

_(Also, thanks to Elliesmeow, for correcting me on my incorrect usage of the term "PDA;" it is, as she pointed out in her review, "Public Display of Affection," not "Personal Display of Affection," as I originally had it written. It has been changed accordingly.)_

_See you next time!!!_


	6. Discovery

_Reading over the previous chapter, I expressed my desire to not have the next update take three months to post. And it didn't._

_It took almost two years to post._

_I know quite a few people have stated that they wanted an update, but my desire to continue this story wasn't there until lately, so now here's chapter six. I hope there are at least a few people who will even remember this story..._

* * *

Footsteps sounded upstairs, and Kira awoke in an instant. The creaking floorboards made the noise echo all around them, so she couldn't quite pinpoint exactly where the person was.

She found out momentarily, though, when the door that led to the ground floor opened up.

Kira could hear the wrenching of plastic against wood, as the person tried to work the pipe out of the door. He could not, though, and eventually he gave up and continued down the stairs. He was breathing heavily from having to exert himself trying to get the pipe out of the door, and he was mumbling something about "effort wasted."

After a moment, he reached the bottom of the stairs. It was night-time, though, and he hadn't yet turned the light on, so she couldn't make out any of his facial features. In a moment, though, he pulled on a chain and a lightbulb came on.

The man looked young, about in his mid 20s, with the makings of a beard covering his face. Kira recognized him from somewhere, but she couldn't quite place exactly where.

He looked over at Kira and smiled, seeing that she was awake.

"Division put up a hell of a fight," he said, "but we managed to fend them off."

"So..." Kira replied groggily, "you saved us?"

The man nodded. "Me and my girlfriend saw them loading you and your boy toy up into a van, so we followed them for awhile. They noticed us and tried to fight, but we overpowered them, and got you two away from them."

"So if that's true," Kira asked, "then why stuff us in your basement?"

"Division was coming for you two, and somehow they got tipped off that y'all were going to be here. I couldn't keep you upstairs, otherwise they'd have found you."

"How did you know they were coming here?"

The man coughed softly, most likely a result of the mildew down in the basement. "Got a tip-off from one of my buddies who still works for Division. See, I used to work for them too, and they think I still do. They don't know I've gone rogue."

"Like myself and Nick," KIra responded, motioning over to Nick's unconscious body.

"I see he freed you," the man said smiling. "I could care less; I figured he'd find a way to. What is he?"

"Mover," Kira replied. "I'm a Pusher."

The man inclined his head to them. "Bleeder. My girlfriend is a Sniff, but she's not here right now. She's at work, but she should be getting off here in a few minutes, so I might have to leave to go get her."

Kira was about to respond, when she saw a handgun floating in mid-air, just slightly not resting against the Bleeder's head. She motioned to him, and he flicked his eyes in that direction. As he did so, the gun cocked once.

"You move, you die," Nick said, standing up. His joints ached from lack of use, but he powered through it and stood upright.

"I mean you no harm, I promise," the man said, holding his hands in the air. "I'm the one who saved you from Division."

"So I heard," Nick replied. The gun floated back to him, and he caught it in one hand. "Just had to make sure you weren't going to change your story under pressure."

Nick's cell phone vibrated, and he took it out. When he saw who it was, he opened it up and answered it.

"Pinky, what's up."

He heard no answer, though, and when he looked at the phone, he saw it had dropped the call. Sighing, he shut the phone and put it back into his pocket. He shifted the gun to his left hand and replaced it in his belt.

"I can let you use my phone, if you'd like, to call him back," the man said. Nick nodded in appreciation, and the man led the way back up the stairs, with Kira and Nick in tow.

When they got into the living room, the man tossed Nick a cordless phone. "Call whoever you need to, talk as long as you want. I gotta go pick Emma up." He inclined his head to Kira in a show of respect, shook Nick's hand, then went out the back door.

Nick dialed Cassie's number, but didn't get an answer. He left a quick voicemail, telling Cassie that he and Kira were okay and that they would catch up with them as soon as possible, then hung up. He looked at Kira and smiled.

"Guess we might as well head back then, eh?"

Kira nodded, and the two of them walked out of the house together.

**Meanwhile...**

Cassie's phone rang as she was stepping out of Pinky's car. The caller ID read "Unknown Number" and she shut the phone angrily. A few moments later, her voicemail ringtone sounded, but she ignored it.

She and Pinky went up to the ancient, decrepit house that she had instructed him to drive to.

"Why are we here?" Pinky asked, wrinkling his nose at the stench of something dead in the yard.

"I already told you, because we're going to see Emma," Cassie replied testily. "She's a Watcher friend that I knew from years ago, and she might be able to help us find out where Nick is."

Cassie was about to knock on the door, when it opened slightly.

"You two should not be here," a voice inside hissed urgently. "Division is watching this place like hawks."

"Then let us in!" Cassie responded.

The voice was silent for a moment, then spoke: "Wow... I almost didn't recognize you, Cassie." The door opened the rest of the way. "Get in, quick!"

Cassie and Pinky ducked inside the house. They had no idea how she was going to help them, but at that point, one thing was clear.

Their options were running out. Quickly.

* * *

_Well I hope you enjoyed this latest update. Hope to not take two years to post chapter seven... ^^;_


	7. A New Ally

_It didn't take me two years to update this time. I'm getting better..._

* * *

Cassie entered the house cautiously, Pinky following closely behind her. He shut the door as he entered; there was no one else coming, and whoever this girl was scared of might be trying to sneak in after them.

"Can we get a light in here?" Pinky asked.

He was quickly shushed by someone he could not see. He grumbled a bit noisily, but fell silent all the same.

There was a few minutes of quiet, then an overhead light came on, illuminating the room. Cassie and Pinky saw that they were in a living room of sorts. There was only one threadbare couch sitting up against the far left wall, with a few assorted non-matching pillows thrown on for good measure.

Pinky saw a young lady leaning up against the doorframe that led into the dining room. She appeared to be in her mid-20s, Asian in complexion, with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Emily Ha, at your service," she said, offering her hand to Pinky, who took it cautiously.

She laughed. "You do not have to worry about hurting me- or about me hurting you. I am a Watcher; my powers are solely defensive."

Pinky smiled, but still did not increase the pressure on her hand. "Pinky Stein. Shadow."

Emily's face lit up. "Ah, a Shadow! It has been a while since I have seen one of you. It will be good to have some added protection for now."

Emily turned to Cassie. "It has been too long," she said smiling.

Cassie smiled in turn. "So it has." The two of them stepped forward and embraced. When they left each other's arms, Cassie turned to Pinky.

"Emily was one of the first friends I made when I was found by Division. She and I escaped relatively close to each other, only a few days' difference."

"Cassie got back into touch with me a few hours ago," Emily said. "She said she needed help finding someone."

"Nick, Cassie's boyfriend of sorts. He's a Mover who fell into a Division trap, he and a Pusher friend of ours. We think Division has him and is planning something for him."

Emily's face fell slightly. "Planning... something? Like what?"

Pinky shrugged. "Most likely payback. Kira- the Pusher- killed one of Division's top Pushers, a guy named Carver, and-"

"Wait," Emily said, holding up a hand. "Carver is dead?"

"Yep," Cassie replied. "as far as we know. Kira must have Pushed him into killing himself. She had very briefly mentioned something about that, so I assume she did it. Regardless, I would have seen Carver in at least one of my visions since then, and I haven't."

Emily smiled again. "I almost forgot you were a fellow Watcher, though with your mother's status in Division, I should not be forgetting it that easily."

She noticed a visible change in Cassie's demeanor when she mentioned her mother. "You have gotten news regarding her?"

"She escaped," Cassie said with a grin. "I'm supposed to be going to meet her whenever she can get to a safe place, but I have no idea when that will be."

"Maybe you can introduce Nick to her," Pinky replied with a sly grin. Cassie punched at the air in his direction, knowing that there was no way she could hit him, not with the extra few feet of distance between them.

Pinky got the point, though, and fell silent, though the smile did not leave his face.

Cassie turned to Emily again. "We can't find where Nick is. That's why we came to you."

Emily looked confused. "Is he being Shadowed?"

"Maybe, I don't know. All I know is that we can't find him anywhere-"

Cassie's phone rang. She looked at it and again it read "Unknown Number." She angrily ignored it and shut her phone again.

"I'm kinda tired of getting these calls from unknown numbers. It's really annoying, and it's tying up the line maybe so Nick can't get in touch with me."

Emily shook her head. "What is the world coming to nowadays?"

She walked into the kitchen, motioning for Pinky and Cassie to follow her, and they did. Her kitchen was very simple, yet elegant in its simplicity. She opened the refrigerator.

"Anything to drink for you?" she asked.

"A Coke, if you have it," Pinky responded, and Cassie motioned that she would have the same. Emily brought out three bottles of Coca-Cola and set them down on the kitchen table. The three of them sat down.

"I cannot have visions voluntarily," Emily said. "Cassie undoubtedly already knows this-"

"As do I," Pinky said. "I do hope that this is not imposing on you, but we were thinking, Cassie and I were, that this could be a good opportunity to get a place to stay for awhile. We could protect you, and at the same time be waiting close by to see if you get a vision about Nick."

Emily thought for a moment, sipping her drink absentmindedly. After a moment, she looked at Cassie.

"What do you have to say about this?" she asked.

Cassie smiled sheepishly. "Well... as much of a Pinky idea as that sounds, it was actually my idea for us to stay here, at least for a few days. Especially with Division after you-"

"Actually, I don't think it's Division that's after me."

Pinky and Cassie both looked at Emily in surprise. "But you said they were watching-"

"Yes, I did. But they do not seem to be Division. They are psychics, no doubt, but I do not believe their allegiances lie with Division. They are out to get me, though, and that is why I have not left my house in almost a week. They are still out there, waiting for me."

Pinky got up and looked out the window. Sure enough, a black van sat on the opposite side of the street, its engine off. There were two men inside, but Pinky could not make out any of their features.

"So we can stay here?" Cassie asked.

"That is fine," Emily responded. "I have separate rooms for the two of you, assuming that is what you prefer. I do not believe that you feel that sort of attraction to him, though."

Cassie laughed. "To Pinky? No, he is just a close friend. Nick is the one that I feel that sort of attraction to..."

"Then we shall find him as soon as we possibly can-"

A gunshot rang out from outside, shattering a window pane. Emily and Cassie ducked down low, and Cassie looked to see if Pinky was hit. He was not, though he was pulling a revolver out of his cargo pants pocket.

"Guess they don't like us being here," Pinky said dryly.

More shots rang out, and more glass shards rained down onto the floor. Pinky chanced a glance outside and saw that the men who were inside the van had gotten out, and were making their way to the house. Pinky sighed.

"Well... looks like we're in this one for the long haul..."

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed it. This was one of the easiest chapters I've written for this story, maybe because I had my inspirational music, aka deadmau5's Random Album Title, playing while I wrote this. :D_

_Hope to see you back for chapter 8!_


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